Daughters of Time: Historical Tales, Truths, and Tangents

Welcome to my new blog, where I live in the past to figure out the future.

The title comes from Josephine Tey’s novel The Daughter of Time. It’s the historian’s craft wrapped up in mystery, and the best explanation for what I do than just about anything out there.

My best friend Kay McDonough shared my enthusiasm for The Daughter of Time, which we re-read as often as our repeated readings of the Little House books when we were in 4th grade. Kay passed away in 2016. We were both students of history, daughters of time, and this blog is another way to honor her memory.

Tell someone that you love history and you’ll either get enthusiastic agreement or a blank stare. Or worse, “Ugh, I hated history in school.” Well, that’s not history’s fault. Because history done well is about what everyone loves: great stories. We are hard-wired for...

My Daguerrotype Boyfriend A young man, a photograph, and the insatiable urge to explore Talking About Fred I’m obsessed with the short life and tragic death of Boston journalist Frederick Wadsworth Loring, who was killed in the Wickenburg Massacre of November 5, 1871...